Keanu Reeves has been in a couple of big martial arts influenced movies (those Matrix films come to mind, and there’s the delayed 47 Ronin) and now he’s directing his own. The film is called Man of Tai Chi, and features Reeves as the villain, with Tiger Hu Chen (who worked in the Matrix stunt team) as the hero. The movie also features Karen Mok (So Close), Simon Yam (Ip Man 1 & 2) and Iko Uwais (The Raid), with the rather famous and very skilled Yuen Woo Ping (The Matrix, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) as the action director.

Man of Tai Chi will make its debut later this year, but in the meantime we’ve got the first images and a teaser poster. Read More »

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In 2006, Joon-ho Bong’s The Host set the record for the highest-grossing Korean film of all time, but apparently sea monsters are no match for attractive criminals. This summer saw The Host‘s figure defeated by Dong-hun Choi‘s The Thieves, a heist flick that looks from here like a Korean Ocean’s Eleven with touches of Mission: Impossible.

Starring Yun-seok Kim, Hye-soo Kim, Gianna Jun, Jung-jae Lee, Simon Yam, Hae-sook Kim, and Dal-soo Oh, the plot centers around a group of top burglars plotting to steal the $20 million, 318-carat Tear of the Sun diamond from a highly fortified Macau casino. The Thieves is now headed for a Stateside release, and we have a new trailer after the jump.

Johnnie To may be one of the most prolific Hong Kong directors working today, having directed at least two films a year since the early 90s, but he’s also one of the most important. With John Woo and many other prominent HK directors crossing the waters to direct films in America during the 90s, things back home started to get a bit stale, especially when it came to modern-day crime films. Johnnie To helped rejuvenate Hong Kong cinema with some stellar crime and action films (see The Mission and Fulltime Killer), and he’s only gotten better over time. 2006’s Exiled (now available on Netflix Watch Instantly) is a prime example of his dedication to characters, slick action, and all-out baddassery.

Now we have a trailer for his upcoming film Vengeance, and it surely doesn’t disappoint. The film stars French actor/musician Johnny Hallyday (wearing the Charles Bronson mask well, I might add), and To regulars Simon Yam and Anthony Wong. If you’ve seen any major HK films in the past ten years, you’ll probably recognize the latter two.

The synopsis:

A father comes to Hong Kong to avenge his daughter whose family was murdered. Officially he’s a French chef. Twenty years ago, he was a killer.